Falling
by nav.love
Summary: Rey Kon is stuck in an endless cycle of lust with Kai Hiwatari...but is it really only lust...? Just another random one shot.Not my story! I just rewrote it
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone, I just wanted to tell you that plot and the story are NOT mine! They are owned by Mirelle DeMaupassant who allowed me to rewrite it.**

**Thank you again and I'll make sure to have fun! I don't own Beyblade and characters**

**R&R**

**  
FIRST CHAPTER**

_Only a few more minutes and I'll be away from him,_ I think to myself as I round the corner of the gym. Just as I reach the doors of my hotel room I hear his voice from the other end of the hallway.

"Rey," he calls in that low drawl of his.

A cold shiver runs down my spine. I take a deep breath and struggle to continue on, reiterating to myself that he doesn't affect me—he doesn't control but I can already feel my defenses growing weak.me _You're not going to get me,_ I think, _not this time._ But he calls again.

"Rey," he says, his tone more aggressive this time. He knows I am battling myself to resist his temptation. And I know he is taking great pleasure in it.

"Just keep walking," I mutter to myself. "It's as easy as that." If only this were true. Suddenly, the door of my hotel room seems miles away and there is a great weight on my shoulders, weighing me down. In what seems like an eternity, I take the last few steps to the doors and unlock them.

"Dranzer stop him!" I hear him shout, just as I begin to step into my apartment's living room and I am rendered completely motionless.

_Shit,_ I think as I stand there, helplessly, listening to his footsteps grow closer and closer, knowing that this is where it ends.

It was all going so well. I had devoted every fiber of strength in my body to avoiding him; skipping meals to avoid seeing him, forcing myself not to look at him during the trainings, building mental walls around myself and telling myself they were impervious to his manipulation. For two days, it had seemed as if my efforts were paying off. I had neither seen, nor heard, anything from him, but somewhere, deep inside of me, I knew it was too good to be true.

"This was a fun game, Rey," he whispers into my ear, "but I'm through playing." His hand creeps up to my shoulder and he spins me around. Not expecting the sudden action, I stumble over the doorway and fall into the empty living room. He follows me in. The doors shut behind him.

I scramble to my feet. "I don't want you here," I blurt out, reaching into my jeans and pulling out my blade. "Get out," I say, "now."

He raises an eyebrow and a smirk springs to his face. "Are you going to hit me, Rey?" he asks with light chuckle. I raise my beyblade and point it directly at the center of his chest.

"I'll do it," I say, "I swear I will."

He takes two steps towards me and closes the gap between the tip of my beyblade and his chest. "Go ahead, Kon," he says, softly, looking me in the eyes. "Do it...if you can."

The silence between us grows as I begin to become desperate for escape. Slowly, a devilish smile creeps to his thin lips. He knows.

He grabs my bare wrist and, very slowly, he pushes my arm down, bringing himself nearer to me. I can feel my will to resist grow weaker and weaker as he grows closer. When he stops, our faces are inches apart and I am barely an inch from melting into mush in his hands. He puts his hand on my cheek and closes the gap between our lips. A shiver runs through me as my last shred of opposition crumbles and I fall victim to his bittersweet attraction.

He pushes me to the wall and my body goes limp as he presses his against mine. His lips wander to my neck. A small whimper escapes me when I feel his tongue against my flesh. His kisses roam further upward, toward my ear, leaving a trail of warmth along the side of my neck. "Stop fighting it, Rey," he whispers against my ear, "you know you want it, too."

Suddenly my hands are shaking. The desperate desire to feel his skin under them is growing impossible to contain. I bite my lip to distract myself from the feeling of pleasure coursing through my body as his lips move back down my neck, past my collar bone. He reaches up and proceeds to undoing each of the buttons of my shirt until the fabric falls open before him. Without hesitation, he begins to kiss a path down my chest. _Oh gods, _I think as his tongue nears my nipple. I want so badly to scream his name but I can't. I won't let myself.

Finally, his lips make contact with the bud of flesh and I lose it. "Oh, Kai," I moan, thrusting my hands into his gray tresses. I feel him chuckle against my skin as his kisses continue to flow downward. Before long, he is standing up again, in front of me, undoing the fastenings of my trousers, kissing and sucking my neck, again. "Kai please," I moan again. "D...Don't..." But I can't finish.

"Don't what?" he whispers, send his hot breath against my skin. His hand slowly slides into my trousers and past the elastic band of my boxers. I throw my head back and another deep moan escapes me…

"Don't stop," I whisper, to him.

The fight is over. I've given in. I've fallen...again.

So what do you guys think? Next chapter?

Read and Review…?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: hey I'm back! I know you missed me gives everyone a cyber muffin **

**SilkYuzu****: I can't believe it!!!!! You reviewed this story!!! gives a huuuge hug you're like my favorite author and I'm sooooo proud. I hope you'll like an explanation thoughsmirk**

**Everyone else, don't feel ignored, you just need to know I really like his/her work and you should check it out too. Anyway I was so happy when I saw your reviews and I hope that you'll like this chapter too.**

**Rey's POV:**

I lay silently on my bed, staring restively at the scarlet fabric of the canopy above me, thinking of him. It's been two days since our encounter on Thursday, and he's taken me twice since then. My eyes wander from the canopy to the window. The moon is shining brightly in the sky, sending a pale light (left open because of the steadily increasing summer heat) onto my thin white sheets. I sigh but it quickly turns into a chuckle as the memory of our most recent meeting, just a few hours ago, comes back to me. He had cornered me in the hallway shortly after dinner. That devilish look on his face told me exactly what I was to expect. I fought him off for as long as I could, which, as it turned out, wasn't very long at all.

_Why do I always give in to him?_ I ponder to myself.

I chuckle, again, at the pointlessness of this question, as I've always known the answer. I want to. I want to give in to him, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. I want him to take full control of my body, even knowing that I'm just going to feel empty and used afterwards. Why do I do this to myself? Who knows? Maybe I'm some kind of a masochist and enjoy being used for my body and thrown aside.

_Or maybe I love him._

The thought had taken me by surprise, creeping out of the depths of my mind. _No,_ I think to myself, _I can't love him. There's nothing to love. It's just sex._ I shake my head, confirming the mental statement.

Then, another question slips into my thoughts. Why? Why does he love to torture me and tease me, knowing what the eventual outcome of his actions will be?

Maybe _he's _some kind of sadist, and takes pleasure in my struggles.

_Or maybe he..._Before I even let myself finish the thought, I sit up and crawl out of my four-poster bed, leaving it right there, on my pillow. Then I grab my blade and leave the dormitory. Five minutes later, I find myself on the front steps of the new build gym. The grounds are beautiful coated in the moon's pale glow. My eyes scan over them, taking them in, as a cool breeze whispers past me. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, before leaving the steps and heading south, to the lake. As I approach it, I find that I am not the only one who was in need of a nighttime stroll.

He is standing at the lake's edge, wearing only a pair of silk pajama bottoms, deep purple color, peering into the inky black water. I open my mouth to call out to him, but before I make a sound, I am hit with the realization that I still blame him for torturing me. Feeling, suddenly, curious, I continue to walk to the lake, coming to a halt some ways behind him. Then, I see them, and my heart stops cold in my chest.

Ugly red lash marks, fading but still quite visible, cover the fair skin of his back. On his sides are what look like old bruises. I take a few steps closer, to examine him further. A few more bruises on his abdomen catch my eye before my eyes travel to his arms. Almost glowing in the moonlight are several thin silver lines...cuts. I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder. He jumps at my touch and turns around. "Who's there?" he demands, looking almost frantically about himself. It is then I realize, if I don't start running now I'm dead meat. Without a second thought, I turn on my heel and run back up to the castle, not stopping until I am back in my room.

When morning comes, images of what I saw are as vivid now, in my mind, as they were last night. At breakfast, I can do nothing but stare at him. The obviously expensive long sleeved button down shirt covers him, but I can still see the scars through the black fabric. I can still see the marks. I shudder. "Are you okay Rey?" Max's voice says from my right side, "you haven't touched your breakfast."

I turn to him and smile politely. "Yeah," I answer, "I'm just not very hungry. I think I'm going to go back to my room. I just remembered I need to check on Kenny, he's doing some new researches on Driger." Without waiting for his reply, I get up from my seat at the table and leave. I have no intention whatsoever of going back to my room.

I slowly walk down the first floor corridor, my ears open, waiting. It isn't long before I hear the familiar sound of his Italian leather shoes behind me. Within moments, his arms are around my waist, his lips brushing roughly against my neck. "Going somewhere?" he asks, sending his hot breath down the collar of my t-shirt. Before I answer, he pushes me through a door that ends up leading into an empty room. I lose my balance and fall backward, slamming my back against the edge of an old desk. His slender fingers begin to work their way past the hem of my shirt as his lips explore every inch of my neck. I moan out loud and thrust my fingers into his silver grey hair. I won't be putting up a fight. Not this morning.

I pull his face to mine and kiss him, hard on the lips. His tongue slides into my mouth, connecting with my own. It is his turn to moan. My hands travel down to the collar of his shirt, aching for the feeling of his skin against them. My fingers dance around the small silver fastening until, finally, it comes free. They do this a second, third, and fourth, time, slowly exposing more and more of his porcelain skin. When I get to the fifth button, he pulls his lips from mine. "What are you doing," he asks, chest heaving. I don't answer but bring our lips together again and continue to work my way through the rest of the buttons. "No," he says, pulling away from me, again, "stop." He takes a step back. I look at him. His chest is heaving, his lips swollen.

"Kai, what are you..." I start, but the look on his face stops me. His mouth is hanging open, and his eyes are filled with...fear? Before I can say anything, he runs a hand through his hair and backs out of the room, not even bothering to fix his appearance.

O

**Kai's POV**

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I whisper to myself, pounding my fist into the tiled blue walls of the Bladebreakers' shower room with each muttered oath. Steamy hot water runs down my body as I stand under the shower nozzle. "Fuck!" Thoughts of you are constantly swimming in and out of my head. The way you moaned when I touched you, when I kissed you.

_Where did I go wrong,_ I think angrily to myself, _what did I do?_ I slam my fist into the wall, again, in frustration as no answer comes to me. Just yesterday, you were in my arms, begging me for more, pleading for me not to stop. You were helpless. You were weak. You were mine. And now today…"Fuck!" I shout slamming my fist into the wall again. Suddenly, the hot water making its way down my body turns cold. Have I been in here that long?

I reach out and twist the knob protruding from the wall, bringing the running water to a halt. Then I turn around and grab a towel from the rack to the left of me. With the towel wrapped around my waist, I walk out of the shower and traipse down the hall leading back to the boys' rooms. Our room is empty when I enter it, which I am thankful for. I go straight to my bureau and pull out a pair of black pajama bottoms. After I put them on, I walk over to the mirror to examine myself. I grimace at the image looking back at me.

My body would be perfect, if it weren't for the bruises and scars. The marks of an angry grandfather. No, not angry. Disappointed. _You are weak,_ he had said to me the night he had given them to me, _and stupid. How can you consider yourself a member of the Hiwatari family?_

_He's right you know,_ a voice in the back of my head says, _you are weak. You're even losing Rey, and he was the one thing you were sure you could control._

My fist clench in anger as I remember what had happened earlier today. The way you suddenly began to take control. _Never again, _I think, _never again. I'll show you who has control of this situation._ Suddenly, there is a tap at my window. I walk to it, open it and I see letter flying on my bed _Kai,_ it says, _we need to talk. Meet me in the room where they used to research our blades._

I chuckle. A perfect opportunity has just dropped into my lap. And this time, I'm going to make sure it goes the way I want it to. I glance at the Dranzer sitting atop my bureau.

**R&R or else…**

**Or else you'll get a blueberry muffin NOT the chocolate one.**

**Stay crazy**

**nav**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! How are you? Well I'm fine, watching TV with my dad…oh joy…I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and I hope to receive lots and lots of reviews… If you review, I update faster… I know I'm awfully mean.**

**Thanks all of you who updated…**

**SilkYuzu: Ups…sorry, I should know you're a girl…I mean most of population here is female…I think. You should feel loved, that was the point anyway. And Kai is an asshole, but I like his attitude. It just fits in the story.**

**Black-Dranzer-1119: hehe, sure you get a huuuge chocolate one with big chocolate pieces in it. Thanks for review.**

**Ranchdressing: We all love KAI/REY action!! I like Kai/Tyson too, but the story about them would have to be more emotional…and I don't like emotions much. Thanks for review.**

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**Rey's POV**

I had spent the rest of today thinking about this morning, about the look you had given me. There was no mistaking that look, nothing else it could be mistaken for.

Fear.

Fear?

Fear. But why? That was the question. What is he afraid of? I pace the length of the room, running this morning's events through my mind, over and over. Whatever it is, it has something to do with those scars. Why else would he have fled so quickly? Where did they come from? Who? I stop in my tracks as I am hit with the answer to my own question. All day long, I had pondered this; how could I have not seen it before, when the answer is so obvious. There is only one person in his life that could do that kind of damage to him, one person he would allow to do it.

I look at my watch. It is now five minutes of twelve. I give the room another once over, making sure everything is perfect.

This time, I don't plan on letting him get away.

Suddenly, I hear the click of the door opening. I turn around just in time to see him enter the room, wearing a pair of black pajama bottoms and a black sweater. He is early: his first mistake.

The look of defiance on his face sends a pain to my heart. He knows I am on to him, and I know he is going to try to prove me wrong. _Not tonight, Kai,_ I think.

I watch his eyes scan around the room. They stop for the briefest of moments when they land on the couch before continuing and resting on me. I can see the question in them. I say nothing but, reach into my pocket and pull out my Driger, I mutter to him something. A shower of sparks surrounds the door as it becomes unable to be opened.

He looks, first, at the door, and then at me, raising a slender eyebrow. "First a couch and now a Driger's sealing the door," he says. "Just what do you think is going to happen tonight, Rey?"

He says this in a tone of mockery but it is laced with true uncertainty. I say nothing in response. Wasting no time, I walk over to where he is and stop only when our faces are inches apart. "Who did it to you?" I demand.

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, Kon," he says. This act of his is lasting longer than I thought it would.

"There's no need to lie," I say, softly, "I've already seen them."

I see the corner of his mouth twitch, just slightly. He opens his mouth to speak but, no sound comes out. Is he thinking of another lie? It's far too late now; he's been silent for too long for me to believe him. Finally he sighs. "It was you, wasn't it," he whispers, "that night at the lake."

Slowly, I nod. He falls silent. "Who was it?" I ask again.

A scowl suddenly leaps to his face. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you know me, Kon," he spits out. "My life is _none_ of your business." He turns to leave. Before he can even move an inch, I put my palms flat against the wall, on either side of him, blocking his escape. "What are you-"

I cut his words off with a rough kiss. I can feel him resisting but that only makes me kiss him harder. I said I wasn't going to let him get away and I plan to keep my word. I tilt my head slightly and force his lips open with my tongue. I can feel him slowly start to give in. I take my hands from the wall and place them on his slender hips, bringing them right up against my own. He moans.

_Yes, _I think, _just let go. I know you want to._ I have no desire to control him. Only to have him accept me as more than just an escape, for I know now that that is why he seeks me out.

My hands slide up to the hem of his sweater and, hesitantly, begin to pull it up. I feel no form of resistance so, I continue, sliding my hands against his smooth porcelain skin. The sweater slides over his head and our lips part, briefly, so as I throw it onto the floor. When his arms come back down, they land around my neck. I kiss his lips again and then leave them for his neck. I feel his throat vibrate as he moans my name.

"I guess this means you win," he says, dejectedly.

I stop kissing his neck and bring my face up to his. "What are you talking about?" I ask.

He looks at me in confusion. "Isn't that what this is all about? You telling me to come here and seducing me?" I furrow my brows in question. What is he saying? "Aren't you doing this to prove that you can beat me at my own game?"

I bring my face closer to his. "It was never my intention," I almost whisper to him, "to seduce you, _Kai_." I kiss his lips softly. "I brought you here, to show you that I was through playing games." I kiss him again. "I want you, Kai." I look him straight in the eye. "I...love...you."

There. I've said it. I've said the words that have been trying to force their way out of me since that first time he'd taken me. The words I have denied for so long. They are out...and now all I can do is wait for his answer.

I see his mouth open as if he is about to say something but, he quickly closes them again. A scowl slowly creeps onto his face. I know what is coming. "You really are an idiot, Kon," you say, coldly. "you've taken something totally meaningless and mistaken it for love. And, now, I suppose you're expecting me to confess my love to you?"

I take a deep breath. Looks like the act is back on. "I know why you're doing this, Kai-"

"No, _Kon_," he interrupts, "you know nothing." Having said those words, he tears himself from my grasp and walks to the door. As he pus his hand on the knob, he hesitates. Then, he turns back to me. "You forget, Rey, that I am a Hiwatari." And he leaves the room.

I am alone, again, with my thoughts. Not sulking, but calculating. His words would have hurt me, had there been any truth behind them. There couldn't have been. I sigh. This is the second time today he's fled from my presence, just when I was getting closer to him. Too close for him. I smirk smugly to myself: an idiom I've picked up from him. _I'm onto you,_ _Kai, and it's only a matter of time before I get what I want. What I know you want, too._

**R&R please?**

**Stay special **

**nav**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Rei's POV**

How quickly the tables have turned. Just days ago, it was I that was avoiding him; now it seems the opposite is true. In the week that has passed since our last rendezvous, I've seen almost nothing of him. He skips meals to avoid me, and when he sees me approaching him in the corridors, he turns the other way. When we have training together, he doesn't speak to me, save out of necessity, and even then it is as if nothing has happened between us.

He says he doesn't love me. If this is so, then why is he making such an effort to be away from me? I chuckle to myself. It can't be true. I refuse to believe it. His kiss, last night, was too sweet, his moans, too…genuine, to be an act. There's something else, something he's not telling me, That is making him deny me.

_"You forget, Kon, that I am a Hiwatari."_

That is where he his wrong. I know very well that he is a Hiwatari, and it is because of that that I love him. His Hiwatari charm, his Hiwatari arrogance, his Hiwatari sex appeal. It's all of these things and more that make me go half crazy when I'm not around him and completely insane when I am. I hope he doesn't make the mistake of thinking I've given up because I've chosen to indulge in his little game for a while. I'll find out what it is that he is keeping from me, and I'll make him see that he isn't fooling me with his "Hiwatari" façade.

Without warning, someone nudges me, wrenching me from my thoughts. I look up, to find Mr. Dickenson standing in front of the mass of bladders, with his arms raised, signaling silence. The hall quickly quiets down, as everyone is eager to hear what he has to say.

"Just a reminder," the old man says. "As many of you may know, we will be having its annual reunion in honor of the finalists in just a few days time. Contesters will have that day off, spend time with their families. Parents and relatives will be invited to spend the evening before the feast. The feast is not for finalists, only, but, all others are also invited. Now, having said that, please continue with your dinner." And he sits down and immediately immerses himself in a conversation with Max's mom.

The noise level in the hall crescendos past its usual volume, and instead of last night's training, words of the reunion are on everyone's lips. From what I can tell, some are anxious and others are excited, but it isn't them that have captured my interest. My attention is on Kai, who is sitting at his table, surrounded by his entire band of Demolition team. They, like everyone else, are talking animatedly about the upcoming reunion. None of them seem to notice that he isn't taking part in the spirited chatter. Instead, he is staring, dismally, down at his half eaten roast beef. The little color in his face has completely vanished. For a long time, he is motionless. Then, very abruptly, he slams his fork down onto the table and rushes out of the hall, attracting several bewildered stares.

-o-o-o-

**Kai's POV**

My hands begin to shake uncontrollably as I storm down the empty stone corridor. I grab each one with the other and hold them tightly until the shaking stops. When I reach the stone wall leading to our rooms, I unlock the door and hurry inside, crossing the long, dimly lit room, to the flight of stone steps that lead to the dormitories. I run up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and throw myself into my dormitory, slamming the door shut behind me. "Goddamit!" I shout through clenched teeth as tears begin to well up in my eyes. I send a swift kick to my trunk, but the action succeeds in doing nothing but sending throbbing pain through my foot. I groan loudly as I grab my foot in pain, falling on my bed. "God damn you, old man," I muter as I rub my foot through my shoe. "You and your stupid fucking reunion." I had completely forgotten about it until this evening.

Unable to sit still, I get up and begin to pace the length of the room. _Why,_ I think to myself,_ why is it that everything in my life has to turn into absolute shit? First I have to deal with fucking Kon on my ass, and now my uncle's been added to the mix!_ I let out another frustrated groan as my hand falls upon something solid and heavy, sitting on my bureau. Before I can think, my body reacts, and I hurl the think at the wall behind my bed. There is a loud clunk as it makes contact with the stone wall.

All kinds of emotions are bubbling up inside of me. Anger. Hate. Fear.

_No,_ I think quickly,_ not fear. I am a Hiwatari. We fear nothing._ I try hard to make myself believe these words but, somewhere in the back of my head, a small voice is screaming, _Bullshit!_ My hands begin to shake again. I know what I want, but I refuse to let myself have it. I lean back against the stone wall and slide down until I'm sitting on the floor. My arms fall forward and land on top of my knees in front of me.

"Nonsense," he had said, when he had seen my scars, "acts of weakness. Only a weak man inflicts pain on himself, rather than on those who deserve it."

I am no weakling, and I refuse to give him the satisfaction of being able to name me as such.

_But you are weak, _the same small voice says, now sound annoyingly like my father, _you know that. Look at what's happened with Rei._

Oh, God. Kon. I hadn't even thought of you, which is something of a surprise to me because, for the past week, you've been the only thing on my mind. Ever since that night I can't stop thinking about you. About what you did…what you said. It's been a full week since then. You haven't said a word to me about it, on any of the few occasions that we speak to each other. Part of me wants to believe that you've finally gotten the message but, the rest of me knows better. The rest of me knows to expect that you're probably just biding your time, planning your next move. After all, you do still have my sweater. Well, you better not pull anything while my uncle is around, or I'll be sure to make you pay. I run my fingers through my hair and sigh heavily, resting the back of my head against the cold stone.

_"I…love…you."_

What on earth could you have been thinking? Love me? And you expected me to say it back? I could laugh at how preposterous the thought is. Me loving you. Me loving, even. I am a Hiwatari. We do not love. My uncle's taught me that.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey's POV

**Rey****'s POV**

I was not shocked to find Mrs. Tate beaming at me when I entered the hall, eight month old baby Rupert sitting contently on her hip. "Oh, Rey," she said, "It's so wonderful to see you again, dear!"

Now the six of us—Mrs. Tate, Max, Chief, and I—are sitting at the end of our table. Mrs. Tate is explaining to us why Max's father couldn't be here, stopping every couple of seconds to keep Rupert from throwing a handful of eggs across the table. I try to give a semblance of attentiveness but my mind is clearly elsewhere. My eyes are looking past her to the Demolition table, behind her. Kai is sitting at the center, looking almost livid. His normally beautiful, porcelain skin is a sickly alabaster and the rings around his eyes show a lack of sleep. He stares down at his plate as he pushes the food on it around with his fork, never once bringing it to his mouth. His so-called loyal friends are nowhere to be seen. Sitting across from him is none other than his grandfather, dressed in his usual black formal suit. I notice that there is a large space on either side of the both of them, separating them from the rest of other blader groups. It is very clear that everyone knows not to interfere with the business of Mr. Hiwatari

I see Hiwatari's lips move as he lifts his head to look at Kai. Without looking up, Kai stops the motion of his fork. When he ceases to speak, Kai pauses for a moment before shaking his head. I begin to wonder what that was about but I don't get too far as Mr. Dickenson soon rises from his seat at his table, demanding silence. All heads, including my own, turn to look at him.

"On behalf of the faculty here at World competition," he says, "I would like to extend a welcome to all parents and family members of our finalists. I am sure you are all as proud as I am of their accomplishments." Hall immediately erupts into applause. He smiles and waits for it to die down. "Now," he says, "I would just like to remind you all, that feast will commence at eight o'clock this evening. Lunch will be served as usual, at noon. Other than that, you are all free to roam at you leisure. Feel free to visit your children's trainings though, I must ask you to try to refrain from disturbing any of our younger competitors, as this is still a regular training day for them." And with a slow bow, he takes his seat.

The noise level in the hall rises again, and it accompanied by the scraping of benches as people begin to leave.

-o-o-o-

**Kai's POV**

"Come, Kai," my grand father says to me as he straightens out his suit, "let's see if you've accomplished anything worthy of my praise."

"Yes, sir," I mutter, and I leave my cold, uneaten, food to join him. My stomach has turned into a lead weight and my forearms are aching with the sting of freshly made wounds.

Last night had been terrible, but I would give anything to go back to it. I couldn't sleep for fear of what was to come the next day so, I let myself have what I had been wanting ever since Dickenson had first mentioned the feast. The first cut had been small, just a scratch on the wrist with the very tip of the blade that had brought forth a couple droplets of blood. The second had been deeper, and the third deeper still. I had continued in this manner until both of my arms were covered with an array of dark red streaks, all of which bled beautifully. Then, I sat on my bed and watched the blood run in little rivulets across my skin. For the first time in months, I was genuinely calm. I wasn't worried about Kon, or my team, or even my grandfather. None of that had even existed to me. There had been only me, the blade, and the blood.

Those feelings have long since dissolved and, at the moment, my heart is beating at a rate which I am certain should have killed me by now. I follow my father wordlessly as he makes his way to the dungeons. When we arrive at my Potions classroom, we find Boris Balkov sitting at his desk, going through a pile of files. He looks up as soon as we enter the room. I take a seat on top of one of the tables and watch anxiously as my grand father approaches him.

"Hiwatari," Balkov says with a smile, "how good it is to see you, again."

"Yes," my father replies, "how are you, Boris

"Quite well, but I think I am right in assuming that that is not your foremost concern."

My father smiles. "You know me too well."

"Let me just get young Kai's file from my office." My father nods. Balkov pushes his chair back from the desk and disappears through a door at the front of the room. He emerges seconds later carrying a worn down manila folder, full of old pieces of parchment. "Here we are," he says, handing it to my father. "I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with his work. He has performed most commendably these past seven years."

My father takes the folder, resting his serpent headed cane against Balkov's desk, and begins to look through it. As he does so, Boris catches my eye and gives me a very discreet smile of comfort, letting me know that I have nothing to worry about while I am here.

"Boris," my grand father says, looking up from the folder, "if you were to…rank all of your bladers, where would Kai stand?"

"Why I am sure he is deserving of nothing lower than the topmost position."

"Hmm." He takes another look at the contents of the folder. Then, he closes it and hands it back to Balkov. Then he takes his cane. "I think I've seen enough. You'll have to drop by the manor, sometime, Boris."

"It would be a pleasure, Voltaire. Good day."

As we leave Boris's room, I let out a small sigh of relief, but it isn't long before I am once again overwrought with trepidation. Thankfully, our visit by statistics went much the same as Balkov's, though without the warmth of Boris' comfort, and I walk out of Tate's office thinking, _Yes, only one more to go._

When we arrive at my cabinet, Professor Spine is standing at the back of the room with a large stack of books in her arms. "Be with you in a moment," she says, without even turning back to look at us. I watch her as she places the books, one by one, on a bookshelf that takes up the entirety of the back wall. Finally, she puts the last book away and walks up the aisle between two rows of desks. "Ah," she says, bringing her palms together in front of her deep violet robes, "you must be Mr. Hiwatari. I am doctor Spine."

"Charmed," my grandfather replies, curtly.

"Well, I'm sure you are most anxious to know how Kai is doing in my class."

"Oh, yes, _most_ anxious."

Professor Spine smiles warmly. "You'll be happy to know that he is one of my top students. He's very attentive and focused in class, though he can be a bit unsociable towards the other students."

"And his rank?"

"His rank?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Professor Spine says, pensively, "I don't usually rank my students, but I suppose I could say Kai is top student in his class and maybe…second in his year?"

My breath gets caught in my chest. My heart stops cold.

"Second?" my grandfather asks.

"Yes," Professor Spine answers, "that sounds about right. You should be very proud of him."

My grandfather is silent for a moment. He takes a deep breath. "Just out of curiosity," he says, "who is the top student of Kai's year?"

"Oh, er, Rey Kon. I don't know if you know him. He's a student in one of my other classes. Brilliant boy."

My grandfather is able to retain his stony disposition but I can see his hand tightening around the serpent head of his cane. He is not happy. "Yes, well, I think it's time I take my leave."

"Oh, well, it was nice to meet you Mr. Hiwatari."

"Likewise." He turns to the door. "Come, Kai."

I come out of my daze and slowly follow my father out of the classroom into the hallway. My entire body is numb. My breath comes out in short gasps. _Oh, God, _I think, as we walk down the stone corridor. _Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God._

It's all over. Everything I've put myself through, all the hard work I've done. All of it was for nothing, brought down in a matter of seconds.

The lunch bell rings and bladers begin to rush out of their trainings, into the halls but we do not stop. Someone bumps into me. My grandfather pushes past the black current, leading me further and further away from everyone else. We reach an old wooden door, in a seemingly abandoned hallway. "In," my grandfather commands, holding the door open. I obey. He follows me into what looks like an old classroom and shuts the door behind him, locking it with a sealing charm. Then, he begins to pace back and forth in front of me.

His nostrils are flared in anger as he takes deep, heavy breaths through them. "Tell me, Kai," he says, twisting his wand in his hand, causing it to emit sporadic bursts of red sparks, "did you hear what Professor Spine said about you, just now?"

"Y-Yes, grandfather," I mutter, barely audibly.

"Can you…repeat it, for me?"

"She-She said I was top student in her class."

"And in your year?"

"S-Second," I whisper.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

"Second," I repeat, a little louder.

"That's not all, is it, Kai. Second best to whom?"

I take in a ragged breath. "Rey Kon."

"That's right," my father says, "Rey Kon. A cheep _blood_." He stops pacing and brings his face close to mine. "Tell me, Kai. How do you feel about being outsmarted by someone who's nothing? Are you proud of yourself? Because, if it were me, I would be hanging myself right about now."

"Well, I-I tried my best, grandfath—"

Before I can finish, he raises his hand and brings it down onto my cheek, sending me into one of the desks. My lip collides with the edge and it bursts, filling my mouth with the taste of blood.

"Don't you dare tell me you did your best," he screams, "because if you had done your _best_, we wouldn't be here, right now!" He walks to me and grabs a fistful of my hair, wrenching my face back to his. "Do you know what 'second best' means, Kai?" he snarls, "Hmm? Do you?" I shake my head. "Well, allow me to enlighten you. The term _'second best'_ is another way of saying '_greatest failure'!_" He hurls me into another desk. This time, pain erupts in my ribs as my side smashes into it and I fall, face down, onto the floor. "And there is no room for _failures_ in the Hiwatari family. It seems I'm going to have to teach you that lesson again, since you didn't learn it the first time."

-o-o-o-

**Rey's POV**

_Where is he?_ I wonder to myself as I glance over to the Demolition boy's table for the fifth time. I haven't seen him since this morning. All day long, I've kept an eye out for him but it's as if he's disappeared off the face of the planet. I haven't seen his father either. _What if he's in trouble?_

_No, _I tell myself, _that's not it. He's just late._

I don't even believe that. Suddenly, I spot a familiar face at the other end of the Great Hall. "Excuse me, guys," I say to Mrs. Tate and the others before leaving the table and running to where she stands at the entrance.

"Olean!"

"Hello, Rey," she says, smiling at me.

"Have you seen Ka—Hiwatari?"

"Hiwatari?" she repeats, "I don't think so, sorry."

My heart sinks. "Alright, thanks any—"

"Oh, wait!" she exclaims. My head perks up. "I did see him, a few minutes ago, actually."

"Where?"

"Um, I was on my way out of my class and I think I bumped into him. He was following a man, probably his father 'cause they looked so much alike. Neither of them looked too happy, either."

"What?" My heart begins to pound in my chest. "Olean, which way were they headed? Do you know?"

"Yeah, it looked like they were going to the old hallway that no one uses anymore, you know the one on the seventh floor."

"Listen, I need you to get a doctor, Mister Dickenson, and as many teachers as you can to that hallway, as fast as you can."

"Why? Rey, what's going—"

"There's no time to explain. Just do as I say. Go!"

Before she can say another word, I run as fast as I can out the door to the nearest staircase. I climb the six flights without pause, taking them two steps at a time. _Please, please, be okay,_ I think as I race down the deserted hallway, _please, be okay. _I turn the corner, into the old hallway, and try the first door I see.

Nothing.

I try the second door.

Nothing.

I try the third door. It's locked. I start to move on to the fourth door but before I can even step away from the third, I hear a crash come from within. "Kai," I say to myself. My hand goes to the knob, twisting it violently, but in vain. I take a step back from the door and hurl my body into it, smashing my shoulder into the wooden surface. The door doesn't budge. I step back once more, lift my foot and bring it down on the door. Still nothing. I hear another crash come from the other side of the door.

"Dammit!" I shout, pacing back and forth, ready to pull my hair out. "Why won't you open?" Suddenly, I remember the magical wooden object currently in the back pocket of my jeans. "Ah," I sigh, grabbing for it and pointing it at the door. Nothing. I am pacing again. I need Driger to get past this door, but I can't think. _I'm not going to lose him, _I think, grabbing fistfuls of my own hair, _not to a stupid door! I can't._ My head feels as if it's about to explode

"OH, JUST LET ME IN!" I shout, desperately, pointing the blade at the door a third time.

As soon as the words leave my lips, the door shatters into millions of splinters, with such a force that knocks me into the opposite wall. Too frantic to be astonished at what just happened, I quickly regain my senses and run through the doorway. I see the tall figure of Hiwatari standing, with his blade raised, in front of another, writhing on the floor.. _Kai._ Before I can think, my own blade is out. "Thunder slash_!"_ I shout, and Hiwatari goes flying. There is a loud crack as his head makes contact with the opposing wall. Then, I run to Kai, who is still twitching and writhing.

I grab his shoulders and turn him onto his back. His face is streaked with blood and tears; black bruises encircle his eyes; his clothes are torn—I can see blood seeping through the fabric. His mouth his moving but no sound comes from it. "Kai, what are you…I can't…"

The room is immediately filled with the sounds of his screams, his sobs. "Sorry—so, sorry--" he shouts, over and over again, gasping and wheezing. "Never—never again!"

The words tear into me, into my heart, into my soul. "No, no, no," I say to him, "Kai, it's okay. It's okay. It's over."

"Please—" he continues, "please—no more—no—"

"Kai," I shout, "it's alright. It's over. Please stop. Please!"

But he doesn't. I wrap my arms around his body and bring him close to mine, half trying to console him, half trying to muffle the sound of his agonized screams.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps. It isn't long before the robed figures of Mister Dickenson and Spine, followed by Olean and doctor, come bursting into the room. The first thing they see is Hiwatari's body lying, motionless, on the classroom floor. "What's going on in here?" Spine demands. Then, she catches sight of Kai and me. "Kon, what is the meaning of this?"

"Professor," I say, looking up but still clinging to Kai's body, "you have to help him! He won't stop! I told him it was okay and he won't stop…"

"What did you—how did this—"

"Step out of the way, please, Pansy," Dickenson says, authoritatively, and he steps past the witch and kneels beside Kai and me.

"please," I beg, "do something, anything. I can't take it anymore."

"Rey," Dickenson continues, now looking at me and taking out hi wand, "I need you to return to your dormitory, at once. I will be there to speak with you momentarily."

"But," I protest, "what about—"

"Kai will be fine," he interrupts, "now, go. Pansy please escort him."

Before I can say another word, Spine is at my side, grabbing my arm with a surprisingly strong grip.

"No, Professor you don't—"

"Come on, now, Kon" she says, ushering me to the door-less entrance of the classroom. "You heard Mister Dickenson."

A/N:

Pansy Spine: is a doctor and a professor at the blade institute

Miss Tate: is a statistic at the institute

Olean: another blader aka OC character


End file.
